Faulkner said that the artist should be willing to kill his own grandmother for the sake of his art: "The 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' is worth any number of old ladies." Now that hypothesis has been tested.

Initial reacton: funny how the first article started with the paragraph about the women, then forgot all about them. I note, though, that the second one (as linked by Ann) was put up some five hours earlier.

Reading about this bizarre accident made me think about the opening scene in Enduring Love -- the out-of-control hot air balloon starting to rise with a young child in it. Several men run after it, trying to hold on to the ropes and pull it down. When the balloon drags them over a ridge, all but one let go. That guy gets pulled up with the balloon and eventually falls to his death, while the balloon comes down without incident several hours later (child unharmed). From that opening scene, Ian McEwen spins a tale of obsession and obsessive behaviour.

The story of the two women and the exploding balloon-like artwork is, if anything, stranger than fiction.